How Is This Possible?

Could they see Alaska from their house?

Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin was lit up

on Saturday Night Live years ago for supposedly

saying "I can see Russia from my house."

The line comes to mind as two Russian nationals

just found a way to escape the Ukraine draft by

boating to a spot only 40 miles from mainland

Russia that is part of the United States.

The two draft dodgers appeared in the

obscure community of Gambell, Alaska,

on the Northwestern tip of St. Lawrence Island.

There they requested asylum in the U.S.

"to avoid compulsory military service" in

Putin's war, according to a spokesperson for

U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK).

The boat adventure shows that "the Russian

people don't want to fight Putin's war of

aggression against Ukraine," said Alaska's

other U.S. Senator, Dan Sullivan (R-AK).

The dodgers were taken to Anchorage

for processing.

Sources... Washington Post, Associated Press

@cccmedia Doubtful...the guys came from parts of Russia far from the Siberian Provinces and took the train for several thousand miles to get to Gambell Island. But it's true that, on a clear day, residents of Gambell can see the distant mountains of Siberia the Chuchotke Peninsula is about 36 miles away). But the asylum seekers say they sailed from a port 300 miles away. That's too far for them to see their target island.

Eargate.

In the winner-take-all playoff game on Sunday between the San Diego Padres and the Mets in New York, Padres starter Joe Musgrove was throwing the most dominant shutout in the post season since Don Larsen tossed a 'perfecto' at the Brooklyn Dodgers over 60 years ago.

In the signature moment of the Padres-Mets series, Mets manager Buck Showalter accused Musgrove of using an illegal substance in his ears and had the umpires inspect him at the pitching mound.

Musgrove survived the ear probe with a finding of no evidence against him .. retired the side .. and threw a nasty gesture toward the New York dugout as he left the field.

The Mets managed only a meaningless single off Musgrove in seven innings, losing the game (6-0) and the series.  The 101 games they won in the regular season did them no good.

Musgrove showed restraint by making the hand gesture instead of firing fastballs at Showalter and the Mets in their dugout at the end of the inning.

cccmedia

Kiwi Corner.

Here are three amazing facts about the

country of New Zealand...

-- It was the first country to give women

the right to vote.  They first voted

in 1893.

-- New Zealand's capital of Wellington

is the southernmost capital in the world.

-- There are five sheep per person

in New Zealand.  That's the highest

sheep-to-people ratio in the world.

Source... globotreks.com

Irony and Pete Rose...

The Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball (MLB)

will allow fans to bet on baseball games at a new

BetMGM Sportsbook at its ball park, starting in 2023.

The opening at the Reds' Great American Ball Park

is possible because Ohio has authorized

legal sports betting starting in January of next year.

For baseball fans, the irony is that former Reds star

Pete Rose, now 81, was banned from MLB in 1989

after an investigation determined he had bet

on games ., and Pete has never been allowed back

into the Major Leagues in any capacity ever since.

Let the big dog eat?

Some co-founders have left the social-media

company that bears the name of a famous

ex-government leader.  One co-founder

has turned whistleblower.  He has shared

testimony and documents with a federal

agency and The Washington Post.

When T---- Social launched last year and

stock in the venture was arranged, the

stakes became worth in the multi-millions

of dollars, boosted by a major merger and

a flood of investment dollars.

Mr. Big, though he had put up no money,

was granted 90 percent of the stock ..

for the use of his name and minor

involvement in the venture.  The remaining

ten percent was all that was left to split

among the co-founders.

But 90 percent wasn't enough for Mr. Big.

He called up one of the T--- Social execs

named Litinsky (who was since been fired)

and asked Litinsky to give some of his

stock shares to Mr. Big's wife.

Litinsky demurred, saying the gift to the

wife would create a huge tax bill

for Litinsky that he couldn't afford.

That didn't stop Mr. Big.  He told Litinsky,

'just do what you have to do'.

In the end, Litinsky was fired .. and it is

unknown whether he still retains his

shares.  A co-founder says the firing

was in retaliation for Litinski's refusal

to turn over a small fortune

to Mr. Big's wife.

Source... The Washington Post

Saturday's baseball thrills.

Major League Baseball's Saturday (October 15)

action constituted a day like no other in the

sport's post-season history at the

professional level.

In Cleveland, the re-named Guardians were

down to their last strike in Game 3 of a

series tied at 1-1 with the Yankees when

Oscar Gonzales of the home team sent the

fans home with a two run single, changing the

score from 5-4 Yankees to a 6-5 Cleveland

final.  It was the third walk-off game winner

by Gonzales in one week.  62-homer slugger

Aaron Judge of the Yankees earlier broke out

of a slump with a long ball, as the Yankees

scored all five of their runs on taters.

In San Diego, the Padres couldn't get

anything going .. and fell behind the Dodgers,

3-0, entering the late innings.  Then the

Padres erupted -- scoring five runs, eliminating

the Dodgers with a 5-3 win.  Superstar

Juan Soto, acquired late in the season from

Washington, tied the game with a single to

right field .. stole a base .. and then

scored belly-flop style on

Jake Cronenworth's two-run single to center

that crushed the Dodgers and their 111-win

season.

In Seattle, Jeremy Peña came to bat in

a still-scoreless game in the 18th inning

for the Houston Astros.  Peña crushed

a home run to left-center to give the Astros

a 1-0 victory, eliminating Seattle.

There was a fourth game of the day, in

Philadelphia, a relatively easy win for the

Phillies, 8-3 over Atlanta.  The game featured

an inside-the-park home run and eliminated

the Braves from the postseason.

In the National League championship series,

San Diego will play Philadelphia.  Still to

be decided:  whether it will be the

Yankees or the Indians facing Houston

in the A.L. championship series.

Expat officially out of mayoral race.

In Cuenca, Ecuador -- a magnet of a city

for Expat relocations -- an Italian-born

Expat named Luca Pallanca was leading

in the race for mayor two months ago

against the incumbent mayor.

Pallanca is known as a restaurant owner,

as a philanthropist and as

the man who negotiated the

re-opening of a key road that allowed

medical supplies to enter Cuenca

during the nationwide strike in June.

Since that September poll, an

Azuay province election board

ruled that Pallanca could not serve

as mayor because he was not listed

on the voting rolls and did not vote

in the national election last year.

An election dispute board has now

upheld the provincial board's

decision .. effectively ending

the Expat's bid for elective office.

Source... www.cuencahighlife.com

ND voters send pot use measure

down to defeat.

On Tuesday, the voters of North Dakota

voted down an initiative that would have

legalized the use and possession of

marijuana.

The measure was defeated roughly

55 percent to 45 percent.

With winter coming on, some observers

thought voters in the Peace Garden State

would have welcomed the idea of

smoking pot on days when the wind chill

is 45 below and most folks stay indoors.

North Dakotans still have the options

to play charity blackjack, go ice fishing

or visit the original wood chipper

featured in the 1996 movie 'Fargo'

(which was filmed in Minnesota).

cccmedia

Nick Cannon populating the world.

Host/actor/rapper/high-earner Nick Cannon, 42,

is having his 11th and 12th children with a total

of six baby mamas, two of whom are

currently pregnant.  The most famous of

these six mothers is his ex-wife Mariah Carey.

Apparently, Cannon was listening when

Donald You-know-who said that when

you're rich, you can have as many children

as you desire.

This level of fatherhood comes at a price.

Cannon will soon be paying $3-million US

annually in child support.

"I've given up on attempting to define myself

for the world or society but instead I'm doing

the work to heal and grow into the

infinite Being God intended me to be,"

the TV personality wrote in September.

"I pray and ask others to please project all

criticism and cynicism towards me and

not the loving and precious Mothers

of my children."

Source:  radaronline.com

Major cryptocurrency exchange goes bankrupt.

FTX, one of the several largest crypto exchanges,

filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on

Friday .. and so did many of its affiliates

across international lines.

Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of the exchange

which was valued at 32 billion dollars US earlier

this year, has resigned.  He may have personally

lost 13 billion US.

Celebs such as sports GOATs Tom Brady and

Stephen Curry may have lost major investments

in FTX.

What happened here?  Investigations are

getting underway.

Source... Yahoo! finance

@cccmedia

got a minute and a half?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ow-MN7qJnIY

@cccmedia

Hubris, self-dealing, bank run, not segregating client funds, cross-linked investments of related companies (FTX + Alameda), over-concentration in one asset (FTT or FTX Token), upsetting your competitor (Binance CEO Zhao who dumped FTT and precipitated the run).

Could they see Alaska from their house?
Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin was lit up
on Saturday Night Live years ago for supposedly
saying "I can see Russia from my house."

The line comes to mind as two Russian nationals
just found a way to escape the Ukraine draft by
boating to a spot only 40 miles from mainland
Russia that is part of the United States.


Sources... Washington Post, Associated Press
-@cccmedia

The first is a certified nutter without a clue

The next two are unknowns, but they crossed 50 miles of rough seas in very low temperatures in a small boat.

They are either as hard as nails, thus unlikely to run from a fight of any sort, or their forms may be less corporeal than we are led to believe. In other words, I suspect the story is a load of old bollocks -more so when you see the weather in the Bering sea that week.

However, I'm no expert so I could well be wrong.

Speaking of football .. a.k.a. soccer ...

Ecuador, which barely made it into the upcoming FIFA

competition in spite of a passport controversy .. will have

a featured spot, playing host Qatar in the opening

match before any other teams take the field.

An arbitration panel ruled that Ecuador may

participate in the soccer/football games despite

a passport of questionable validity that showed

that defender Byron Castillo was born in Ecuador

and not his (possibly) native Colombia.

So the Ecuadorian team will play, though Castillo

has just been individually ruled ineligible for the games

by the Ecuadorian sports authority.

CHL picks up on a rumor that

Ecuador´s soccer players have been bribed.

With the opening match between Ecuador

and host Qatar only a couple of days off

(November 20 Qatar time),

Cuenca HighLife´s news page has picked up

on a rumor that eight Ecuadorian players

have been offered bribes (allegedly by a

super-rich Qatari) to the tune of over

7-million US dollars to lose the game, 1-0.

The allegation, denied by FIFA officials,

is attributed to a semi-credible British

academic named Taha, who admits

he has not totally confirmed whether

it is true.

Ecuador is ranked 44, ahead of Qatar at 50,

in the consensus ´football´rankings.

The CHL article makes reference to the

concept that Qatar has more money

than talent .. and the nation would be

embarrassed to be ´booted´out of the

FIFA tournament on Day 1 .. by Ecuador.

Qatar decides:  This Bud's not for you.

With the World Cup tournament only

two days away, host country Qatar has

pulled the plug on sponsor

Annheuser-Busch and thousands of

beer-loving sports fans who will be

attending the matches in person.

Qatar has reversed its position and

banned the sale of beer at its

World Cup stadiums.

For years, FIFA was criticized for

assigning the 2022 games to a

conservative Middle East monarchy.

Now the controversies over the games

in Qatar include separating 'football' fans

from their preferred beverage so late

in the day.

I see it this way, if  you can't do without a drink for a week, you should examine your life.

After all, WW III almost happened when  the world was told a Russian missile had landed in Poland.

There was talk of NATO aircraft going to Ukraine and attacking the Russian Black sea fleet under articles 4 and 5.

Then it turned out to be from the Ukraine side so they said it was Russian made, all down to Russia, and why they should make another sack of cash selling weapons to Ukraine.

Politics - a load of old crap

After all, WW III almost happened when the world was told a Russian missile had landed in Poland.
There was talk of NATO aircraft going to Ukraine and attacking the Russian Black sea fleet under articles 4 and 5.
Then it turned out to be from the Ukraine side so they said it was Russian made, all down to Russia, and why they should make another sack of cash selling weapons to Ukraine.
Politics - a load of old crap
-@Fred

No, WWIII did not almost start; you are making things up. A missle landed. It was speculated it could be Russian. It actually is almost certianly Russian made. The question is who launched it, Russia or Ukraine. But while it got reported, NATO military leaders acted totally appropriate. They reacted caustiously and stepped up their alert level but did not make any conclusions. But Putin is responsible for the conflict and such collateral damage. Stop regurgitating nonsensical  Russian propaganda.

I see it this way, if you can't do without a drink for a week, you should examine your life.
-@Fred

Go a week "...without a drink..." and you'd have precious little, if any, life left to examine

But, examining one's life is not a bad thing. An unexamined life is not worth living, or so I was led to believe.

No, WWIII did not almost start; you are making things up. A missle landed. It was speculated it could be Russian. It actually is almost certianly Russian made. The question is who launched it, Russia or Ukraine. But while it got reported, NATO military leaders acted totally appropriate. They reacted caustiously and stepped up their alert level but did not make any conclusions. But Putin is responsible for the conflict and such collateral damage. Stop regurgitating nonsensical Russian propaganda.
-@TominStuttgart

Are you sure?

Of course Putin started the war, but this little mess took the world closer to a wider war than anyone would like to even think about.

https://news.sky.com/story/russian-miss … s-12748369

A Russian missile has killed two people in NATO member Poland, a senior US intelligence official has told the AP news agency.

https://www.euronews.com/2022/11/15/rus … ine-border

In response to the explosion, Poland moved to invoke Article 4 of the NATO treaty, which allows NATO members to carry out consultative discussions about whether to invoke NATO Article 5, the alliance’s collective defense agreement, Reuters reported.

Google 'Article 5' if you don't know what it is

https://www.euronews.com/2022/11/15/rus … ine-border

Kuleba went on to propose a NATO summit with Ukraine's participation which will force Russia to change its course on escalation," adding that Kyiv should be provided with "modern aircraft such as F-15 and F-16, as well as air defence systems." "Today, protecting Ukraine’s skies means protecting NATO,” he said in a series of tweets.

Anyway, when they found out Ukraine did it, the Ukrainian missile was a Russian made missile

https://www.militarytimes.com/flashpoin … 2-us-says/

Then it all went silent and all the talk about a evil country dropping missiles on a NATO member stopped.

What you have to realise is various people with  a lot to gain are manipulating the news, as the especially crass example of a Russian missile turning into a Russian made missile shows. You might notice all hints of blame dissolved away and disappeared once the story was as busted as WMDs in Iraq.

Propaganda is a game played by people with a reason, and believed by people with no critical thinking skills.

Of course Putin was a git, but he has done no different than the country most vocal in condemning him, save he's done less of it.

The news is fun.

I started reading it when I took a paper round at the age  of about 10 or 11, and the  first thing that struck me was how different papers would get details wrong. I was into miliary aircraft at that time so a story about how a missile had been accidentally fired grabbed my interest.  A bunch of them got the missile's specs wrong, so I concluded journalists were often lazy and incompetent.

That opened me up to the realisation the newspapers' accuracy could not be trusted.

That moved on to looking at political stories, and noticing how the left and right wing press would slant stories to their point of view, and that commonly turned into pure lies rather than pure news.

That was terrific grounding for my first short wave radio that allowed me to listen to Voice of America, the BBC world service, and Radio Moscow.

They would all report the same story, but add or take away detail that didn't suit them. That turned news into propaganda, but the Soviets were really crap at it as their lies were way too amateurish.

One story I read some years later was about a seriously expensive koi carp the Mail had on a centre spread. It was all about how this fish had been killed by bad water at a major show. The reason I knew the story was a total and deliberate lie is because I was doing a gig there for the event, and I saw the half dead fish brought in and the show's organisers refusing to allow it out of  the quarantine tank because it was clearly very ill.

Reading the Daily Mail's (Rubbish comic) version of the evens I had witnessed first hand only served to confirm my supposition that the news isn't the news, more utter crap printed for the gain of some, the detriment of others, and intended for unthinking fools to believe.

Stupid idea to have the World Cup in a Muslim country.  Who got paid how much to make it happen?

Hi All

I do need to put a few things in its context here. The largest missile was an Iskander that was hit by  Anti air missile system. Irrespective, of this the fault lies entirely at the Russians door. There is no mistakes are made or it could have been faulty, its totally Russia's, fault.

They are and will always be an aggressive state, they have attacked  many neighbours over the years including killing there own in Chechnya so as to invade it as helping etc etc. There a terrorist state who has decided to kill as many civilians as they can, NATO should have put a stop to Russia in 2014, but decided to do nothing,

Sorry for the rant, but I have been shot at , and almost hit by one of there well aimed rockets, that only kills civilians.

Russia is nothing without the west and they know it, Lazrov seen on TV sporting his American tie shirt iPhone watch and iPhone 14 phone also knows this.   

Stupid idea to have the World Cup in a Muslim country. Who got paid how much to make it happen?
-@mugteck

Yes, let's all hate Muslims. Don't you read the news? We all have to hate China now.

You are so last enemy.

They are and will always be an aggressive state, they have attacked many neighbours over the years including killing there own in Chechnya so as to invade it as helping etc etc. There a terrorist state who has decided to kill as many civilians as they can, NATO should have put a stop to Russia in 2014, but decided to do nothing,
Sorry for the rant, but I have been shot at , and almost hit by one of there well aimed rockets, that only kills civilians.
Russia is nothing without the west and they know it, Lazrov seen on TV sporting his American tie shirt iPhone watch and iPhone 14 phone also knows this. 
-@martinodessa

That, or at least much of it, is very likely true, but the country doing the most moaning (and selling several billions of Dollars worth of weapons with very nice profits) is a worse offender.

To condemn Russia, we also have to condemn every other country that has engaged in the same. Yes, that includes Iran, The US, the UK, France, and a whole bunch of others.

By the way, iphones are made in China, as the shirt very likely was, but we can't say that because we all have to hate China this decade.

As for invasion - Russia was well and truly wrong, as was the US when it invaded Iraq - What WMDs? It was all based on lies. That isn't to even consider supporting the total bastard that ran Iraq at the time, but the massive number of dead and maimed civilians was far greater than the number who would have died under the previously US supported dictator.

The same goes for Syria, but that doesn't get as much press because the US and UK are supplying weapons in he same way Iran and others are. However, after all these years the refugee camps are still there and civilians are still getting killed all the time. Still, best not to talk about that. After all, if it isn't in the headlines, it isn't happening.

That mess should have been over and done with years ago, but external weapons supplies are dragging it out. Still, what are civilian lives compared with the large profits armaments companies are making?

I also have a grim laugh when the west moans about Iran supplying drones to Russia, but then supplies drones to Ukraine.

I do have a question - After the US sponsored coup in Ukraine that took the (very dodgy) pro-Russian government out of power in favour of a pro-west government that was elected by all the non-pro-Russian areas of Ukraine, and Russian annexed Crimea, how would NATO have stopped them?

I suppose NATO could have gone into Crimea - Oops - Nuclear war? I tend to find making off the cuff, poorly thought out statements is generally a bad idea.

At the end of the day, a lot of countries are up to nasty crap, but people are dumb so they read the headlines and say how evil one country is, but they don't look further and find out there is far worse going on.

I suggest the ICC should investigate Russian crimes, but they can't hold meetings in the US because that country sanctioned them when they tried to investigate US war crimes.

We live in a bad world where our choices are based on who the best liar is.

To avoid being shot at, I recommend not going into war zones or Texas.

Not hating Muslims, no skin off my ass if no beer is sold at the World Cup.  No Middle East country should host the World Cup because of the climate conditions.  Heard over 6,000 people died during World Cup preparations.  They must be proud.

Heard over 6,000 people died during World Cup preparations. They must be proud.
-@mugteck

I heard that as well - It's bollocks, but I heard it.

A lot of foreign workers have died, but the numbers are from 2011 to 2022, and not on the world cup statium.

The problem with crap is it gets busted, but crass crap gets busted faster and tend to make the purveyor of said crap look meritless.

Not hating Muslims, no skin off my ass if no beer is sold at the World Cup. No Middle East country should host the World Cup because of the climate conditions.
-@mugteck

Whether Qatar today - 24 deg C

Weather Miami today - 25 deg C

Darn - Cancel the US World cup 2026 games.

Kazakhstan is a Muslim majority country - The temp is minus 9 C at the moment.

Dammed hot in those Muslim places

I love propaganda and 'social media' news.

It lets the rest of us work out who the dumb fools are because they repeat it, thus expose themselves as surely as you'd expect a pervert in a school playground to do.

Stupid idea to have the World Cup in a Muslim country. Who got paid how much to make it happen?
-@mugteck

No idea, but we could look at his Highness Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan who funds a lot of Space X - That's the big US company that wants to colonise Mars.

Just to really go for it, Virgin Galactic (such as it is) was partially funded by the Bin Laden family - You have to look at who owns investment companies to know that.

Muslims funding flights in the US of A - Perhaps you should get paranoid for a while.

Hate is a rare old laugh, especially when those you are supposed to hate are helping you out and you don't even know it.

The buzz about FTX.

Media and social media have been buzzing

for a week about the question ´What happened?'

in re  the collapse of FTX and the disappearance

from the scene of it´s 30-year-old founder.

(The topic was introduced earlier in this thread.)

An analysis in the New York Times Morning Letter

comes to some early conclusions...

1. Crypto went mainstream in the pandemic.

            Regulation has yet to catch up.

1. FTX´s collapse is connected to the

              broader tech industry retreat.

¨Tech stocks have crashed,¨ the analysis states.

¨Venture capital funding is drying up.

Nearly 800 tech companies have laid off more than

120,000 workers this year...¨

Source... Erin Griffin, Times Morning Letter

@cccmedia

Just been reading the FTX bankruptcy filing, it's kinda fun! (The Vox version is an easy to read summary.) In it, the guy who dealt with the train wreck that was Enron's bankruptcy, says... well, actually, that wasn't so bad, at least they had accountants and minutes of board meetings! These FTX dudes didn't keep notes, or accounts, or worry about minor issues like ringfencing client funds, or making sure that management didn't buy villas in the Bahamas for themselves using company funds. And, BTW, don't trust any of the financials or the founders!

https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23310507-ftx-bankruptcy-filing-john-j-ray-iii

https://www.vox.com/the-goods/23451761/ftx-sam-bankman-fried-bankrupt-binance-bitcoin-alameda

Ecuador Whitewashes Qatar as World Cup

Games Get Underway.

With various controversies swirling,

Ecuador and Qatar's national teams

actually started kicking the ball around

at a beer-free stadium in Qatar today

(Sunday, November 2022).  It was the

opening match of FIFA's World Cup

competition.

Ecuador captain Enner Valencia scored

in the 16th minute and he added a goal

later in leading Ecuador to a 2-0 victory.

It was an embarrassing sight for Qatar

as throngs of white-robed men were

shown leaving the stadium early ..

leaving large sections of seating

practically empty.

¨Queremos cerveza!¨

While Qatar banned the sale of beer and

alcoholic beverages at its eight World Cup

stadiums, the sale of a non-alcoholic

product named Bud Zero (created in 2020

by Annheuser-Busch) was allowed.

This alcohol-free drink was not a satisfying

option for Ecuador sports fans at the

opening game.

After Enner Valencia's second goal, the

visiting team's fans were in a mood to

celebrate.  They broke out into a chant

of ¨Queremos cerveza!  Queremos cerveza!¨

(¨We want beer!  We want beer!¨)

What they got instead was a 2-0 victory

over Qatar, putting the losing host team

on the ropes headed toward elimination.

Ecuador will take to the soccer field

again on Friday to face the Netherlands

with a subsequent match against

Senegal.

Credit:  Washington Examiner

sports coverage and The Athletic

I recall my time as a greasy, long haired, biker with only few things on my one - one being going fast on bikes, another being Newcastle brown (Google it), the last (and most fun) being more base and involved removing short leather skirts from biker chicks' bodies.

However, I could stop boozing at any point and a week without the pop was never a problem.

If you can't manage that, see a doctor.

As for going to a country known to be very conservative - don't if you don't like how they live.

Also, don't moan like a little girl with a skinned knee if you go and can't cope with it - Grow up instead.

So the ban was short notice (probably deliberately), but it's hardly a big deal unless you are a piss head without a hope.

Now a reality check. If their government imposed a zero alcohol rule on Ecuador there would be a mass of complaints about them taking over and imposing their rules on a foreign country, but it seems to be ok to impose your ideals on them.

Seems fair, but only if you're a superior pillock with no thought for anyone else.

¨my time as a greasy long haired biker...¨

  ----

Before and after 'fotos', please.

Well, excuuuuuse me!

Qatar appears out for revenge.

Qatar's team lost 2-0 to Ecuador

on Sunday at the World Cup games,

but that's not the end of it.

The conservative monarchical nation

is launching an investigation into the

chants fans for Ecuador were doing,

with the possibility the Ecuadorian team

could be fined for fan vocalizing.

Among the chants considered

potentially objectionable were those

allegedly directed at Chile (which had

attempted to block Ecuador's team

from playing for the Cup) .. chants

for beer (which had been banned almost

at the last minute by Qatar) .. and a

Love chant.

The latter of these is a

bit complicated.  You can read about it

at the source of this post,

www.cuencahighlife.com